Iraq teachers’ protest: Strike leader in custody

Shafaq News/ Iraqi authorities have arrested the head of the Coordinating Committee for the Teachers’ and Educators’ Strike, Malek Hadi, and four other members amid a nationwide protest over salaries and education sector reforms, a committee official revealed on Sunday.

Mohammed Jader, a committee member, confirmed the arrests, stating that warrants have been issued for all regional representatives of the strike committee. While the four detained in Najaf, Diwaniyah, and Maysan have been released, he noted, Hadi remains in custody in Baghdad.

“These actions are a violation of teachers’ rights and an insult to those demanding legitimate reforms,” Jader told Shafaq News Agency, adding that the committee has received backing from several political figures and civil society organizations.

The arrests come as a large-scale teachers’ strike disrupted education in multiple Iraqi provinces. In Maysan, about 98% of schools shut down, and hundreds of teachers gathered at the Teachers' Syndicate headquarters, according to Shakir Al-Saadi, a member of the General Strike Committee.

“Teachers are calling for increased financial allocations, including raising marriage and child allowances to 100,000 Iraqi dinars (about $77), and extending the Education Service Law—currently applied to university faculty—to schoolteachers,” he told our Agency, asserting that the strike is open-ended until the federal government responds.

In Basra, roughly 60% of public schools joined the strike, while in Baghdad, several schools in areas such as Bismayah halted operations.

Diyala also saw protest gatherings in Balad Ruz and al-Muqdadiyah. “Classes have since resumed, but teachers are awaiting Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, which will be attended by the head of the Teachers’ Syndicate,” stated Ammar Al-Obaidi, spokesperson for the Diyala Education Directorate, affirming the directorate’s support for the teachers’ demands and its commitment to fair treatment in the education sector.

In Kirkuk, teachers demonstrated outside the Directorate of Education in Taseen, calling for salary increases, equitable allowances, and land grants. However, schools remained open and classes were not disrupted.

The Iraqi Coordinating Committee for the Teachers’ and Educators’ Strike launched the protest to pressure authorities to expand financial benefits and enforce the Education Service Law across all teaching levels.

The Ministry of Education, meanwhile, instructed all schools and directorates to maintain normal schedules, citing the importance of completing the academic year without further interruptions.

Separately, in Babil province, hundreds of public sector employees, contract workers, and university graduates staged protests in al-Hillah over wage disparities and limited job opportunities. Demonstrators near the provincial government building demanded implementation of a fair salary scale and the Civil Service Law, noting that some government employees earn as little as 180,000 dinars ($138) per month.

Under Al-Thawra Bridge in central al-Hillah, unemployed graduates and contract workers criticized their exclusion from recent hiring efforts, urging federal authorities to ensure equitable employment and pay practices across ministries.